Build a PC for Rome 2 / Hardware Recommendations and Advice Thread

[Biggus Splenus]

Well I think these videos will still help you, because you can get a few things early (like your graphics card, power supply) whenever you see them on a good sale. That's what I would do, actually that's what I did do. I spent $500 on the first 3 parts of my PC, but they were worth $700, but I was just lucking with some deals and good timing.

[BigHairyMelon]

I too will most likely be upgrading my PC around the time Rome 2 comes out. I really need to upgrade to 64 bit windows as 32 bit is really dodgy when it comes to shogun 2. As you said get all the pieces individuality to save lots of money, it makes the warranty better as well. I've got a local computer shop near me that have been really good with their customer service so I'll be ordering all my parts from there. If any one has a local computer shop that isn't a mega store it would probably be better to visit that because the staff will actually know a thing or two about computers instead of people who work at places like PC world.

[Biggus Splenus]

DeadlyPhoenix, thank you for saying that and I want this to be not more of a flexible guide line then a strict 1-option build. Many different people have different preferences, and some PC pieces run better on different games. I just want to help people build a PC for EXACTLY what they use it for, for the least amount of money needed, and without going over the board with certain things (eg. 16GB of RAM in a gaming PC, or a GTX 680 sitting in there when you could have got a 7970 for nearly half the price and out-performs it for games).

@BigHairyMelon - yes, 32-bit systems are rubbish for gaming. They restrict some of your RAM too, so you can only use a certain percent of it. Also, 64-bit windows can emulate 32-bit windows if needed, but not vice-versa.

EDIT: I would like to ask mods not to move this thread to the more necessary forum, because the point of this thread is to grab the attention of the majority, and it will not do so in the other forum.

[Totalheadache]

come to the basement if you want us to do you builds...thats exactly what's it's for.

there's also links to helpfull websites.

i would stress we need to know more from CA about optimisations to the engine. this is a bit of an unknown factor. generally speaking though shouldnt really mattter because there is always a good balanced build whatever your budget.

£1000 to play on a single screen is perfectly doable for high/ultra settings (perhaps less as you can cut costs in certain areas). a big factor is whether you need a new screen as that will eat in into your budget as I think around £200 is what's required for something quality.

[Biggus Splenus]

@ Totalheadache - these tutorials are going to be aimed at the majority of the community, not the ones that regularly visit the basement forums. It's going to be aimed at people that are totally clueless on their PC and are not confident building their own PC. But I also want it to be aimed at a more knowledgeable audience on this matter too. I also want to enlighten people on all the specs of a PCs components, and show that higher Mhz/Ghz is not always better, and how to build a perfect system without over spending or "bottle necking" any of your components.

A new quality monitor definitely shouldn't cost 200 pounds. In Australia a really good monitor cost about $160, in USA it's about $140, so I doubt you will need 200 pounds in the UK for a quality monitor.

So far there have been 27 votes; 6 don't really care about this, 11 want it in written form, 10 want it in youtube videos.

[Maiden_Ante]

Okay so I've got what I think is a decent graphics card, processor etc BUT will an SSD perform so much better that it's worth buying? And can I run it with a 750W net part (not sure what it's called in English)?

The parts;
Graphics: XFX Radeon HD6940 2048MB with dual fans
Net: Corsair AX 750W 80+ Gold ed
Processor: Intel core i7 2600K 3,5GHz
MB: MSI P67A-GD55 REV B3
Internal memory: 8GB RAM of Corsair DDR3 "CL9 1600Mhz XMS3".

So, what do you think, could I run an SSD for my OS as well as games, if I use my old HDD for media storage?

[Totalheadache]

Okay so I've got what I think is a decent graphics card, processor etc BUT will an SSD perform so much better that it's worth buying? And can I run it with a 750W net part (not sure what it's called in English)?

The parts;
Graphics: XFX Radeon HD6940 2048MB with dual fans
Net: Corsair AX 750W 80+ Gold ed
Processor: Intel core i7 2600K 3,5GHz
MB: MSI P67A-GD55 REV B3
Internal memory: 8GB RAM of Corsair DDR3 "CL9 1600Mhz XMS3".

So, what do you think, could I run an SSD for my OS as well as games, if I use my old HDD for media storage?

only worth getting a 120gb ssd. just got a plextor one and it doesnt run at full speed. you need sata3 for that and my i7 920 board is sata 2. still it's noticeably quicker and I have bioshock infinite installed and darkness2 which load in an instant.

have 40gb left which i'll install company of heroes2 and rome 2 to. that said as it stands i dont think ssd makes that much difference in re total wars. so expensive they are but I am not regretting getting one over a wd caviar or similar (cost me £100 for the plextor pro and a 1tb wd caviar would have been in the region of £60..

some reviews

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_categ...dd|ssd%29.html

p.s and yeah am using my normal hdd for storage and a few other titles (like world of tanks).

[br0wn4life]

hey guys! new to this whole big world of forums and what not, anyways looking for opinions on my current pc specs to see if i should upgrade my pc or leave as is, i do want to play Rome 2 on its best settings! (obviously)

Intel I7 2600k
gtx 580 Fermi edition
8 gb DDR3
1 TB hard drive
my motherboard is just some stock that came with my gateway at the time.

[Joseph Simonyi de Vitézvár]

I have a question. I have more than enough RAM to run this game along wit GHZ, but my only link weak is the graphics card. I have a Intel GMA X4500 and I am able to play games like Elder Scrolls IV on (almost) the very highest settings, NTW on high, and S2TW on low to medium.


1. Do you guys think I could run RTW2 on my computer with this card, yes or no answer, and if not,


2. What card should I get that to stick in my computer that is good, cheap, and won't blow it up sky high?

[Biggus Splenus]

I have a question. I have more than enough RAM to run this game along wit GHZ, but my only link weak is the graphics card. I have a Intel GMA X4500 and I am able to play games like Elder Scrolls IV on (almost) the very highest settings, NTW on high, and S2TW on low to medium.


1. Do you guys think I could run RTW2 on my computer with this card, yes or no answer, and if not,


2. What card should I get that to stick in my computer that is good, cheap, and won't blow it up sky high?

That isn't a graphics card, it's a iGPU (integrated graphics processing unit) that's is inside the CPU. You'll need a dedicated graphics card if you want to play Rome 2 at all.

Depending on where you live, I would recommend different thing. If the new GTX 760 cost about $250 US, then that's a pretty good deal. The HD 7870 and 7850 are also great for the price at between $180-220 US. What's your price range?

BUMPS!

Need some advice, is there anything I should upgrade on my current PC? I'd like to play at max settings or real close to it.

1920x1200
2500k @ 3.8ghz
SLI 560gtx ti
4gb DDR3 1600
Samsung 840pro 256 SSD
Windows 7

I was thinking maybe buying some faster ram and getting 8gb. Then possibly getting a 780gtx superclocked version but I am not sure how much that is going to help over what i have now. My current PC always ran shogun 2 at close to max settings with no lag but when large melee happened it lagged real bad, dropped down to 15-24 FPS. Strangely NTW and ETW did not lag during large melee..

If people actually read the OP, they would learn a thing or two.....

You don't need faster RAM, you won't see any benefit from running RAM over 1600Mhz in games. One of the only times faster RAM is handy is when you're running multiple virtual machines or using specific professional applications. Doubling up to 8GB of RAM will be very handy though, make sure you get then same sticks as your old ones.

Your graphics cards only have 1GB of vram (yes, even combined that equals 1GB), and that wont be enough if you want to play at ultra/high. You'll need a new graphics card, what's your price range?

The rest of your system is fine.

[Vladek]

Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit (6.1, Build 7601) Service Pack 1

Language: English (Regional Setting: English)

System Manufacturer: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.

System Model: M68MT-S2

BIOS: Award Modular BIOS v6.00PG

Processor: AMD FX(tm)-4100 Quad-Core Processor (4 CPUs), ~3.6GHz

Memory: 8192MB RAM

Available OS Memory: 8174MB RAM

Page File: 4912MB used, 11434MB available

Windows Dir: C:\Windows

DirectX Version: DirectX 11

GPU: AMD Radeon HD 6670

Any thoughts on how I'll be able to run Rome II?

[ahedgpe]

Just have to share....I played Shogun 2 with my upgraded system last night and wow, what a difference! Played with Darthmod and 40 units per side custom battle with 1.5x unit sizes and everything maxed out (I know S2 downgrades some options if it gets too intensive). Just over 20,000 samurai on the field and not a single slow-down even when zoomed in! I ended up winning but at a hefty cost...16,800 total dead on the field. Wish I had taken screenshots of the carnage!

OS - Win 7 64 bitUltimate
CPU - i5-4670k(upgrade)
Memory 8gb DDR3 1600mHz Corsair Vengence
GPU Sapphire RadeonHD 7870 XT
Mobo - Gigabyte Ga-Z87MX-D3H (upgrade)
Display 24"Samsung Monitor at 1920*1080

[Mimoxx]

Tier - Very Good - $894-$904
( CPU - i3 4670 - $130
GPU - HD 7870 - $220 or GTX 660 - $210
HSF - CPU Stock - $0
Mobo - ASUS P8H77-V LE - $114
RAM - Corsair 4GB - $45
SSD - SanDisk Ultra Plus 128GB - $110
HDD - WD Black 1TB - $90
PSU - Seasonic S12II 520W - $85
Case - Corsair 400R - $110

I disagree with the conclusions of high-ultra graphics, high-ultra unit sizes)
, with the i3 processor u will lag at médium sizes when fighting full stacks !!! The processor is lot more importante than the graphic card , because without a strong processor even if low graphics quality u will still lag. So i advice this settings , about same Money and with much better results Tier - Very Good - $894-$904
( CPU - i5 4670 $210
GPU - GTX 460 - $90
HSF - hyper212 evo- $38
Mobo - ASUS P8H77-V LE - $114
RAM - Corsair 4GB - $45
SSD - SanDisk Ultra Plus 128GB - $110
HDD - WD Black 1TB - $90
PSU - Seasonic S12II 520W - $85
Case - Corsair 400R - $110
The change to a better cpu and less powerfull Gpu is much better effecience wise

[SamueleD]

I disagree with the conclusions of high-ultra graphics, high-ultra unit sizes)
, with the i3 processor u will lag at médium sizes when fighting full stacks !!! The processor is lot more importante than the graphic card , because without a strong processor even if low graphics quality u will still lag. So i advice this settings , about same Money and with much better results Tier - Very Good - $894-$904
( CPU - i5 4670 $210
GPU - GTX 460 - $90
HSF - hyper212 evo- $38
Mobo - ASUS P8H77-V LE - $114
RAM - Corsair 4GB - $45
SSD - SanDisk Ultra Plus 128GB - $110
HDD - WD Black 1TB - $90
PSU - Seasonic S12II 520W - $85
Case - Corsair 400R - $110
The change to a better cpu and less powerfull Gpu is much better effecience wise

Not with the right setting tweaks in the preference file, in order to fully use the 4 threads.

What's your CPU?

[Mimoxx]

Ive my computer i5-2300 with gtx285 and my brother i3-2105 witgh gtx645,,, We tested the same shogun 2 settings , i get better results

[SamueleD]

Ive my computer i5-2300 with gtx285 and my brother i3-2105 witgh gtx645,,, We tested the same shogun 2 settings , i get better results

Of course you do, both your CPU and GPU are better than his (yes, your GPU is still a bit better than his), but if he sets thread limit to 4 in the Shogun 2 preference file, he will find better CPU results over default settings.

[brianm37]

I'm seeing this thread doesn't have much info on the GT 750m, or y500 for that matter. I currently have a y500 with 750m SLI, and i7-3630QM. I'm interested to see what I run Rome 2 on, as I can run Shogun 2 on ultra and not dip below 30fps. Campaign view or zoomed out battles clock in right around 60fps, and I haven't done any overclocking. Hoping to play at High, we'll see! This is a great thread, thanks!

[Vantaa]

First post here because I have a particular question about my hardware and Rome 2. I build a new PC for Rome 2 and I was wondering if overclocking my CPU would be worth the effort. How much of a performance increase would be achievable with this configuration? I believe that my GPU is not the limiting factor here since it's quite high-end. So would an CPU-overclock do much for the performance of Rome 2?

CPU: i5-4670K
GPU: MSI GTX 770 Lightning 2GB
Mobo: GA-Z87X-UD3H
PSU: Hyper 212 EVO
Memory: Corsair D3 8GB 1600 Vengeance

[SamueleD]

First post here because I have a particular question about my hardware and Rome 2. I build a new PC for Rome 2 and I was wondering if overclocking my CPU would be worth the effort. How much of a performance increase would be achievable with this configuration? I believe that my GPU is not the limiting factor here since it's quite high-end. So would an CPU-overclock do much for the performance of Rome 2?

CPU: i5-4670K
GPU: MSI GTX 770 Lightning 2GB
Mobo: GA-Z87X-UD3H
PSU: Hyper 212 EVO
Memory: Corsair D3 8GB 1600 Vengeance

Overclock away, even 100MHz will be worth it, but you can expect much more with that setup, do some research first and don't touch something if you don't know what it does, good luck!

[SuperDJBling]

Wondering what you would think of this setup, for I PC I plan on buying for Rome II. Just making sure that it is good for TW.

Motherboard GA-B75M-D3V, w/ intels B75 chipset
2: AMD Power Color HD 7870 2 GB Dedicated graphics memory 1 GHz Clock
3: intel Core i5 3570 @ 3.4 GHz 4 Cores
4: G.Skill 8GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR3 Dual Channel RAM @ 1600 MHz
5: Aywun A-1 550W
6: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit